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Navigating Conflict in Classrooms | General Advice for Faculty from the Academic Deans

by · September 4, 2024

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Revised August 2024

The three most important things to remember:

  • Establish classroom norms in advance of conflict.
  • De-escalate and establish boundaries.
  • Document misconduct.

Conflict arrives in many flavors

A core Evergreen value is teaching and learning across significant differences, and difference may entail productive conflict.

The purpose of this document is to help prepare for conflict that isn’t respectful, and isn’t productive.

Set the tone in advance

Your Canvas site, syllabus, learning agreement, and week one orientation are opportunities to establish norms of respect in the learning community. Linking to the Social Contract and Student Conduct Code is a great starting point. To activate these as meaningful living documents, consider a workshop or activity. An example workshop:

In small groups, students are assigned paragraphs from the Social Contract to discuss and create skits they then perform for the learning community. Group discussion is followed by individual reflective writing. A variation of the workshop facilitates students creating the learning agreement for the course/program.

The Learning and Teaching Commons may offer additional examples and resources.

Conduct that interferes with the ability of others to learn

The Social Contract is a helpful document for reminding people of core values. If a reminder isn’t sufficient, what next?

  • Your syllabus and learning agreement set boundaries and expectations. In a student conflict situation, be sure to link those documents to a pedagogical need you can explain. People tend to respond well when they understand why the rules are the rules.
  • If resolving a situation might require removing a student from your course/program, the Student Conduct Code explains the basis and the procedure. It is a good idea to be familiar with the entire code, and especially key pages including: WAC 174-123-170 Prohibited Conduct

Definitions on that page include:

“Disruptive behavior in the classroom may be defined as, but not limited to, behavior that unreasonably obstructs or disrupts the learning environment (e.g., outbursts which disrupt the flow of instruction or prevent concentration on the subject taught, failure to cooperate in maintaining the learning community as defined in the course syllabus or covenant, and the continued use, after being given notice to stop, of any electronic or other noise or light emitting device which disturbs others, unless use of such technologies are an authorized accommodation for a documented disability for that program).

“The faculty member has responsibility for maintaining a productive classroom and can order the temporary removal or exclusion from the classroom of any student engaged in disruptive behavior or behavior that violates the general rules and regulations of the college for each class session during which the behavior occurs. Extended or permanent exclusion from the classroom, beyond the session in which the conduct occurred, or further conduct action can be effected only through appropriate procedures of the college. The faculty member may also report incidents of classroom misconduct to the student conduct office.”

The definition of disruptive behavior (above) benefits from your consideration and conversation with students well in advance of an incident. The more objectively the learning community can understand what does and does not constitute disruption, the less likely bias or incomplete understanding will enter the heat of any given moment.

Early intervention

Setting and maintaining boundaries early helps avoid an escalation that leads to removing a student from class. The Learning and Teaching Commons publishes helpful advice: “Taking a Trauma-Responsive Approach to Community Care.”

De-escalation tips from this community care approach include:

In addition to de-escalation techniques:

  • Document student conduct issues from the outset
  • Share documentation with your teaching team
  • Create a CARE report. Please note the difference between a Care Report and an Incident Report: the Care Report is the first step, at the early intervention phase of a conflict
  • If reason/logic/de-escalation is not available to parties to a conflict, politely excuse yourself. Calmly offering to reconvene later may be a path toward creating the boundaries you personally need and the space for others to re-engage more productively at another time.
  • Remember you aren’t alone. You have staff and faculty colleagues to whom you can turn for advice and counsel: Academic Advisors, your teaching team, Deans, Directors, and the Center for Teaching and Learning among others.

When de-escalation isn’t working, follow these steps:

  • Try speaking to the student privately;
  • If necessary, address the student during class. Explain that the behavior is disruptive and direct them to cease;
  • Create an Incident Report and tell the student you will do so. Please note the difference between a Care Report and an Incident Report. The Incident Report opens a Conduct investigation.
  • If the conduct is so disruptive that you direct them to leave the room, report the issue to Student Conduct at 867-6296;
  • If the conduct is believed to endanger the physical safety of anyone in the classroom, phone Police Services at 867-6140.

Violence in the workplace/learning place:

Next steps:

  • Inform the Academic Deans with a message to deans@evergreen.edu; for graduate and NPP faculty, keep your Director in the loop.
  • To reach the Academic Deans by phone during business hours dial 867-6810. For immediate/urgent situations call or text the Vice Provost at 360-628-6401.
  • Complete a CARE report via: https://www.evergreen.edu/care
  • Schedule an appointment as appropriate with the student(s) to discuss next steps for them in the course/program;
  • Stay in contact with the Dean and with the Director of Student Conduct Officer as appropriate to the circumstances.

FAQs

What about conduct that arises from a medical condition or illness?

Draw a boundary between conduct and academic performance (the actions you observe and document) and medical issues (matters held by the student and their care providers).

  • Help students understand their options. They may wish to consider medical or other leave.
  • Ground your advice in the conduct and academic performance you observe.

How do I navigate offensive or inappropriate remarks?

If you hear a claim that the First Amendment permits offensive language in the classroom, be assured that claim is not based in law.

  • You can restrict communications and discussions to the topic or subject matter being taught on any given day.
  • You can require respectful communication as a basis for successful learning. For example, name calling, swearing, and shouting may detract from the learning environment.
  • You should not prohibit respectful communications on pertinent topics or subject matter, even if these topics might be considered offensive by some. Discussion of these topics may not be prohibited so long as it is carried out in respectful language.

What about offensive or inappropriate language online, for example in remote, online, or hybrid classrooms?

Virtual and brick-and-mortar classrooms share the same conduct framework.

  • Arriving at a shared understanding of respectful language in virtual spaces may call for extra attention, as people may bring habits of language from non-academic settings into online academic settings.
  • You can require that course/program-related work be carried out on platforms the College provides, for example Canvas and Microsoft 365 products such as Word, Excel, Teams, etc.
  • A recommended path toward clarity for students is to place in the syllabus and learning agreement language along these lines:

“The following are platforms affiliated with this course and subject to faculty oversight: [insert links to these platforms]. Any other platforms purporting to be affiliated with this program/course have been created without authorization from the College or its faculty members.”

  • You should avoid the appearance of attempting prior restraint on student speech on third party platforms. You can insist on appropriate conduct by, for example, explaining why it is important that academic work be conducted on the official platforms, and why it is important that students not misrepresent their own webpages as official program/course webpages.

What about Audio and Video Recording?

  • You can prohibit audio and video recording in learning spaces if the prohibition is linked to effective pedagogy.
  • You may also prohibit audio and video recording of intellectual property (for example, your lectures).
  • Place specific guidelines regarding recording in your syllabus/learning agreement; refer transgressions of these guidelines to the Office of Student Conduct.
  • You may not prohibit audio or video recording if it is required as a reasonable accommodation of a disability as determined by Access Services.

What about disruption from a protest?

Individual faculty members are best placed to make real-time judgments about when to ignore noise, when to engage disruptors, and when to cancel class.

  • If you cancel class, please let your Dean/Director know so they can help answer questions and coordinate responses.

If a situation is so complex that you would appreciate assistance in managing it:

  • Contact the Academic Deans at 867-6810; outside business hours, or if there is no response, call or text the Vice-Provost at 360-628-6401.
  • Contact Police Services at 867-6140 if you see:
  • Risk of physical harm
  • Risk that fire escape routes are obstructed
  • Other pressing health or safety risks

How do I request additional training?

Any other helpful resources?

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